HANG TIME CHICAGO — The key to success in the NBA these days, we were reminded during The Finals, is to have a Big Three of stars who can shoulder the biggest load, no matter the supporting cast assembled around them. In that sense, the Orlando Magic should do just fine in 2012-13.

Night after night, possession after possession, the Magic will attack all comers by running a classic pick-and-roll with Salary-Cap Space as the primary ballhandler and Future Draft Picks coming out to set a high screen. Depending on how a defense reacts, Salary-Cap Space has the option to hand off, pull up to shoot or attack the rim, with a kickout release to the corner where Fancy New Building will be waiting to launch a 3-ball.

S-CS to FDP to FNB. Your new Orlando Magic heroes.

The first thing to remember, as news of the four-team blockbuster Dwight Howard trade leaked and then gained legitimacy Thursday, was that the Orlando franchise had very little choice. Its centerpiece player wanted out in the worst way. And thanks to his constant diva antics from early in the 2011-12 season right into August, Howard seemed determined to go that route: the worst, as in awkward, unprofessional, even shameful.

Yet as the names began to swirl — a mix of All-Stars and starters and role players, from Andrew Bynum and Andre Iguodala to Arron Afflalo, Al Harrington and Nikola Vucevic — something else became clear: Orlando was screwed and, even given little choice, should have done better.

If anyone has learned anything from recent NBA free-agent history, it is this: Do not fall in love with someone who does not love you back. Rather, trade his ungrateful quitter’s butt ASAP, bite down hard, deal with the pain up front and move on. The Denver Nuggets should have done it with Carmelo Anthony, the Toronto Raptors should have done it with Chris Bosh and, in hindsight, one could argue that the Cleveland Cavaliers even should have done it with LeBron James. Most of all, though, the Magic should have done it with Howard.

Instead, as if to keep a happy veneer on the fleeting fun of All-Star Weekend 2012, Orlando management let things drag on far too long while getting used and misdirected by Howard and his handlers. It squandered the 2011-12 season, agonized through much of this offseason and now is poised to waste several more years, selling youth and development in an arena meant for superstars and banners.

With an inexperienced coach (Jacque Vaughn), hired by a novice general manager (Rob Hennigan), to oversee a roster of unproven and under-ripened talent, the Magic at least can say they’re all on the same page. Trouble is, it reads “See Dick run. Run, Dick, run. Sally sees Dick run…”

They’ve gone waaaaaayyyy back to the basics in Orlando. And they’re doing it while hiding behind the fresh, smiling faces of young men and younger players.

Let’s keep this simple: How can you trade the best center of his generation in a deal in which two other All-Stars switch teams (Bynum, Iguodala), yet wind up with neither of them? No offense, but Afflalo, Harrington, Vucevic and Philly first-rounder Mo Harkless evoke memories of Connie Dierking, Paul Neumann and Lee Shaffer — the three guys San Francisco landed when Wilt Chamberlain wanted off the Warriors in 1965.

This might not leave the Magic as bereft of prospects and options as Shaquille O’Neal‘s outright departure-for-nothing did in 1996, but it feels close. If there’s a trend here to be discovered — a lower-wattage team donating the reigning all-NBA center to the Lakers every 16 years or so — it’s not likely to catch on.

Philadelphia seems to be doing all right, based on initial reports of its haul, in reaping Bynum and Jason Richardson chiefly for a player, Iguodala, with whom it has been ready to part anyway. The 24-year-old, second-team All-NBA center still can be a free agent next summer but, with the Sixers, will be playing about an hour from where he grew up in New Jersey. He is in line to sign an extension or, if he waits, to re-up with Philadelphia for a longer term (five years) than he can get elsewhere.

Denver, which went through something similar with Anthony, seems content to tag along to upgrade its perimeter defense and backcourt rebounding via Iguodala. The Nuggets gave up some scoring in the transaction and, maybe, greater upside in Afflalo. But Iguodala, who will begin his ninth season, still is just 28.

All of this was made possible by Orlando’s momentary flexing of savvy and leverage last spring — getting Howard to waive his opt-out to table the whole mess until further notice. Clearly, that decision has backfired. Better trade packages from Houston and Brooklyn for Howard’s services came and went. The relationship between Howard and the team that drafted and catered to him turned increasingly bitter, not better.

Now this: A Finals team from three years ago blown up, a return trip inconceivable for heaven-knows-how-long. A solid coach in Stan Van Gundy — who could have done wonders in a situation devoted to youth and development — trash-canned simply to please a superstar and to squelch some rare honesty.

A franchise caught empty-handed at closing time, the harsh fluorescent lights turned up high now, nothing pretty where it’s standing. All sorts of unknowns in terms of lottery balls, Draft evaluations, free-agent recruiting and future trade partners. And a league embarrassed once again by a tail wagging its dogs, a superstar getting darn near everything he wanted (OK, so the Lakers aren’t the almighty, alluring Nets) without regard for the team, coaches, staffers and fans left behind.

At this point, the NBA might not know what it is anymore to not have an active prima-donna hostage crisis to drive its 24/7 coverage, its social media and other Internet frenzies. In which case … hey, Chris Paul, Bynum or (ugh) Howard again, you’re on the clock.

405 Comments

but the magic is not only one that is losing in this deal either. the lakers dont know if howard would re-sign with them after this season. he still wants to test the free agency. maybe after this season he would go to the nets like he wanted to in the first place.

Incredible, Howard gets what he wants, Orlando gets nada and the Lakers are in the mix for at least for 5 more years. What was the purpose of the lockout again. I’m sure glad I’m not an Orlando fan (Poorlando Tragic) !!! Brook Lopez, Kris Humphries, and Marshon Brooks vs. Affalo, Harrington, and Vucevic, and Harkless, who you got ??? Reap what you sowed Poorlando Tragic, Last place in the East.

Eh. Not such a big deal. So LA makes it to the WCF where they win one game against the Thunder. When will people learn? It takes teamwork, chemistry, communication, trust and the will to win. Just throwing talented players together doesn’t do it. I love Nash, but he’s getting old. Kobe too. Pau loses focus too often. Jamison, really? I watched him when he was in Dallas and he was alright but doesn’t have a night in and night out ‘must win’ attitude. Howard?.. He’s shown us nothing so far except that he can dunk and block shots. Hit a jump shot, fade away, or even a free throw for christ’s sake. Sorry Lakers, better days are in the rear view.

Because of this trade, there’s no doubt in my mind that the Lakers will make the Finals. But everyone keeps saying its going to be a Miami vs. LAL Finals, you guys are sleeping on the Celtics. Last season the Celtics took Miami to 7 games and they were at like 40%. With the offseason moves the Celtics made, if they can stay even remotelly health they are a better team than the Heat. I smell yet another Celtics vs. Lakers Finals. Whether I am right or not, the Playoffs will be amazing this year…

The only deal I think the Magic should have taken is that of the package that Houston was offering, but I think the management and the teams overall community knows that they are making moves for the next two year window and starting to rebuild. The GM they have I feel is a believer of rebuilding from scratch but also I think he should have taken the Houston package to do so.
Go Lakers- always trying to put a solid team product on the court whether it works or not all eyes will be in LA.

In every situation in life there two sides in every story,and depending your knowledge and your interest of the parts involved you can agree or disagree of the decision made.The Orlando Magic has been under a lot of problems that we already knows, saying that, I think the results of the unfamous deal made are very unpredictable. First we have to consider that a trade like that when involve the best player and other key players can make a big difference in the future team performance.
The Magic organization based their decision on the cap (capital limitations) which is understandable . The part I don’t agree is that they shoul get a star player so they can make the team around him. Unfurtunatelly.right now Magic does not have that player what makes it an uphill situation. I hope the best to the Magic and if they can win 30 games next season they will be in right path.

In every situation in life there two sides in every story,and depending your knowledge and your interest of the parts involved you can agree or disagree of the decision made.The Orlando Magic has been under a lot of problems that we already knows, saying that, I think the results of the unfamous deal made are very unpredictable. First we have to consider that a trade like that when involve the best player and other key players can make a big difference in the future team performance.
The Magic organization based their decision on the cap (capital limitations) which is understandable . The part I don’t agree is that they shoul get a star player so they can make the team around him. Unfurtunatelly.right now Magic does not have that player what makes it an uphill situation. I hope the best to the Magic and if they can win 30 games next season they will be in right path.

I´m a Lakers fan for more than 30 years, and always thought that Bryant is one of the best players ever. But the one thing that makes me think Lakers won´t be able to reach the finals or another championship is exactly Kobe Bryant. He´s becomming way too selfish, his defensive skills are gone, his FG% is gone and he should be retired right now. I´m just tired of seeing him dribbling the ball for about 20 seconds, no team play, just to see him loose the ball or toss it to the air in the final second. If you watch game 4 / Lakers x OKC, you´ll see that we lost that game because of Bryant selfishness on the last minutes. I know we´ve had some victories that way too, but nowadays… He managed to loss that game by himself, after an almost guaranteeded victory, doing it again and again. No more rings for the Lakers while Bryant is on that team. Or at least not until he changes his way to play the game to team play now that he´s old.

So i know everyone is on the hype train for the heat and lakers this season but i really believe toronto will win it all this year, and win 65 + games this season. The reason is the starting lineup. Heres what will happen.

Jonas V. A talented pick and a consensus #2 pick if he was in this years draft. Talented, Big. And raw with some questions to answer but this season will be an eye opener. a 20-20 reason maybe too much to ask for but look for him to pull in a solid 15-15 every single night.

Andrea B. No he cant get rebounds like a 7 footer should. No hes not tough. And no he shouldnt have been chosen 1st overall. But he can put up 30 on any given night and this year he will blossom before our eyes, He will be the heart and soul of this team. Also look for him to win the season mvp this year. Good for him.

Landry Fields. Getting landry this year was the second best thing we did, With the first best thing being the reason Jose is pissed off. I think its safe to say he will kill it this year and i know alot of people are holding their breathe waiting for him to break ray allens all time 3-pointers record, which he should do mid season.

Demar Derozan. The man who got robbed in the slam dunk competition. We gave him the phrase no props needed. He doesnt need a car to jump over, Screw you blake griffin (but heal that knee up) This year demar will be a solid presence all around, and his highlight will be jumping over the moon, not a car, but the moon. thats right , you heard it here first.

Kyle Lowry. One of the best all around guards. He goes for rebounds, plays with heart. plays great D and can hit big shots. Thank you for throwing him at us houston. Hes the best guard we have ever had….ever. Kyle will average 15 pts 10 rebs and 10 asts this year. And give andrea a real run for the mvp.

So after reading all this, if you dont think toronto is the real deal, then you my friend are a fool. I think they will breeze through this season, And im glad to say this year we will start a dynasty.

So after this season Lebron will have no choice but to become “more competitive” with an even more stacked team, So he will ask to be traded to LA to take kobe’s ball hogging spot on the roster. He will play PG and be claimed Magic 2.0 as Howard will be Shaq 2.0. And people in Miami will feel (almost) as betrayed as cleveland. He was the best thing to happen to that town since drew carey. This year the nba will be truly BIG.

Great deal for the lakers the match between tehm and Miami will be intresting, but the lakers bench doesnt add up to Miami so Miami will repeat as far as i see it, Kobe is old and has 2 0r 3 seasons left where as Lebron is a beast Dwight is a beast, but miami young pgs will out play the lakers

Seriously guys Magic’s future after that trade is dead !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Unless if they hope in the future win some draft picks & made SOME VALUABLE TRADES that’s the only way to be a competitive team U_U!!

I’m glad that Dwightmare is over he’s was crying like a little baby pfffffffffffffffffffffff true champions are those who work hard like MJ & Tim Duncan not buyer rings !!!!!!

i totally agree with u aschburner but i am glad that this drama is over but as a magic fan i really am dissapointed that the magic didnt get a bynum or gasol i would personally prefer bynum but with health issues i would also hesitate to make that trade clearly since magic didnt get a bynum or gasol they are most likey going to make a run for multiple allstars in the summer of 2014 they have to in fact to make this deal sensible but as a magic fan i am going to have to watch a stinky team for the next couple years

guys just fink bout it. i drink ma tea and go to the toilet, come to dis webby sitie with all those heat NO GOOD lakers GOOD blah blah blah. think: jamison, kobe, howard, world peace MWP, steve nash. gasol. all 6 hav been all stars once point or the other so if u hand this to a stupid heat fan i bet hes just gonna mistaken this as the west all star team. u noe two mvps at the 1 guard, 2 guard, with jamison and gasol + dwight! any comments? oh and by the way IM A LAKERS FAN GO KOBE and knicks are also looking for the option of a stoudemarie – gasol swap. you guys think its worth it? i dont. cause personally i think stoudemarie isnt the good player he should be at this point of his career.

I have a feeling Dwight wont re-sign with the lakers after this year. He has the potential and wants to be the main man and own a team, yet there he is being the side show to Kobe. Something tells me Dallas or Brooklyn is Howards home next year (then for the next 5). The dark horse: Atlanta, where he can play ball with his BFF J-Smooth. Dwight is good enough to be the face of the franchise, at L.A he is not. Kobe is always.

There is a problem in this league. Are there some teams working for others???
Shaquille O’neal, Dwight Howard… Especially D12: my Nets offered much more than what Orlando got, but they still refused and dealt him to the Lakers, without getting Bynum!!!!!!!! Incredible.

The Celtics have started a phenomenon with all these super teams 1st KG, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce decide to come together with the Boston Celtics and they win a championship, then Paul Gasol and Ron Artest come together with the Hollywood Lakers and they win multiple championships, then D-Wade, LBJ and Chris Bosh come together and win a championship now Ray Allen for the Miami Heat, then Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudamarie and now Jason Kidd for the NY Knicks, then Chris Paul, Chauncy Billups and Blake Griffin for the LA Clippers, then Deron Williams and Joe Johnson join up with the Brooklyn Nets, now Steve Nash and Dwight Howard come together with the LA Lakers. Fans, owners and players gonna have to accept the fact that the NBA is changin for the better in my opinion, its about winning championships and if it takes for superstar players to team up with other superstars to try and achieve the ultimate goal then so be it, Im not mad at all.

Its funny how. lakers sixers and nuggets all got better but magic didnt get any of those players, they should have atleast gotten one of those guys but its all good, thanks you very much orlando for dwight, time to raise another banner at staples center, great day for us lakers fans…gooooo lakersssss

Finally the story is almost over, the final chapter of this are seem to come, time will say. I hoop douse 4 team get what they deserve. Maybe LA will take one more year to get the on expected ring. Dos any wan remember what happen with the Heat 2010-2011 season and the tree (amigos) superstar????? Ahhhhhhh Let the time make his move ////// will see, will see my fiend’ssssss………….?

The only logic in this (for Magic) is that they want to be the worst team in the NBA, to get 1/1 pick. Dont forget that they have to be even worse than the Bobcats, and its not easy. So trade your franchise player for benchies, protected picks from playoffs teams and even get your bad contracts remain. With this they have a chance to be even worse than the Bobcats. Maybe they try to get four straight 1/1 picks, like in the early 90s. Any other reason why the Magic did that means that they are on acid 24/7.

@lbj … Stop with the ‘cut and paste’ and try a new argument for once … Your comments are ridiculous and overused to say the least … I’m just glad that the Dwight saga has finally been resolved … I still can’t believe he cancelled his appearance at HIS kids youth camp … What a bum!

The commissioner should intervene and require the Lakers to give up Pau Gasol to the Magic to make this a fair trade. Howard for Bynum with the Magic picking up a bunch of garbage and future draft picks is not a fair trade.

I do not totally agree with the author. Perhaps Magic was really fed up with Howard and since they’re going to lose him one way or another, all other teams were going to play hard ball to get what they wanted, and if Magic were in any position to negiotiate a better deal, one team can say, sorry not interested..the deal would be off, bottom line is, Magic want to get rid of Howard getting prospects and something in return rather than just them being empty handed

Seems to me that this trade was even more one sided in favor of the Lakers than the proposed trade for Chris Paul. The lakers should have been required to give up Pau Gasol and Bynum to get Howard. It does seem unfair that the Lakers always get the best players because they are a big media center.

All this talk about Dwight Howard is irrelevant… Lakers may accomplish some immediate success but Dwight WILL kick up a fuss next off-season. OKC are the only team who are currently getting it right building a team from ground up. Harden, Durant and Westbrook are constantly getting better and I would fancy them to win it all next season. (ps im a pistons fan)

kobe is too old and wasted and he will always be selfish!! Howard and kobe will argue all season and poor nash will be frustrated all season long too. lakers will lose in the first round of the playoffs. And by the way all you people need to find jobs!!!

Dont know why everyone wants dwight anyway, untill you can hit more than 70% present of ur free throws u shouldnt be demanding anything. I am a laker fan but am not exactly happy about the trade, they still dont have a bench, which is why they wont win a title. i love steve nash but he’s like 40 and will retire in about 2 years, and then what (still no point gaurd). kobe is old, nash as well, dh is pushing 30, and pau is 33. The fact is they still cant keep up with the thunder and other young athletic teams like denver who almost knock them out this season. the lakers need to rebuild like the thunder did with young players, thats the only way they can be dominate and won multiple titles because pau and nash wont be able to stop a kenneth faried or lebron james ally-hoop.

Why does Rocket not get involved to this blockbuster deal? They pay $$$$$ to get rid of Luis Scola, trading PGs for draft picks…., pay $$$$$$ to acquire an ex-PG after waiving him less than 6 month. What is GM thinking?…..

Lol i just read a comment from Before this trade that said a trade to the aint gonna happen
Next year the magic and the bobcats r gonna go head to head for the worst team ever.
The lakers now have a sick team
1 steve nash
2 kobe
3 metta world peace/antawn jamison
4 pau gasol
5 dwight howard

Sorry Sekou your wrong, in my opinion the Magic did what they had to. There was never a chance of them winning a title whilst Heat, OKC, Pacers (maybe) and now L.A even if Dwight stayed in O-town.

However, by trading Ryan (whose points all came off the Dwight double team), trading the expensive J-Rich and now Howard; they allow themselves to build a BRAND NEW franchise. Allow J.J to get more time and develop along with players such as Clark, Quinn, and Nelson (with a new format – instead of always just “Give Dwight the ball!”). By rebuilding they can have another shot (with a younger roster) once Miami’s big three are older and not as dominating – sure there will a tough few seasons ahead, but OKC went through a similar situation and now look at the young talent they have! They can do something! So to say they haven’t set themself up is wrong. Sure they didn’t get big names in the trades, but some are young, low value and can be traded if needs be, they’ve ended the Dwight-mare before the season has started to prevent a distraction and blown away the old cobwebs of the front office to give way to a new, younger and learning front office from one the best front offices in the league – the Spurs.

In my opinion; yes, in the immediate future it’s going to be VERY tough and painful to watch for some Magic fans, but for those of them who understand what’s happening (I was hoping you’d be one of them) they can rebuild and have another shot at a championship – or at least; a better shot than they would have had should they have stuch with their roster.

The Lakers HAD the best Center who would have been happy to stay a Laker his full career. The Lakers need to get the ball out of kobes hands and into team play if they want to win. On paper the Lakers have the best team, but that does’nt mean they will win the Championship. Howard needs to make his freethrows like Bynum for the Lakers to win. 50% freethrow means alot of hack a Dwight. Dwight needs to shoot 65% or better from the line or it will cost the Lakers 3-4 points per game. Kobe needs to stop being a ball hog and take less than 15 shots per game. Whenever Kobes takes more than 20 shots a game the Lakers lose most of those games. Kobe is not 25 years old anymore and he needs to pick his spots more carefully and not take bad shots.

I think this article is spot on. Philly got a much needed big man and opened up the log jam at the wing spots. Denver got a stat stuffer in Iggy who will improve their terrible defense. And bravo to the Laker’s who pretty much gave up only Bynum in exchange for Howard when earlier on their were reports of Gasol included as well. The Magic though got royally screwed in this trade. All they got were a bunch of starter/role players. The draft picks are virtually useless as well as all of the other 3 teams are likely to be playoff bound for the next several seasons. Little you can do when you have a bunch of mid-late first rounds. It’s their own wrong doing though. They basically let Howard take control of their franchise not to mention overreached in their trades and got burned in the process. Both the Nets and the Rocket’s deal would’ve been spectacular compared to the one they have now. If you look at the past several seasons with Stars leaving their teams, I think the Jazz has been the only successful one. As soon as they realized Deron Williams wasn’t going to resign the following year they immediately started trade talks and landed some really good players. Just one year after their trade they were already back in the playoffs. I think the Magic should have gone a similar route and tried to get draft picks from worse teams. I think for now the best case scenario for the Magic is just to tank until the 2014 Draft.
All Aboard the Andrew Wiggins Train!

Just when a NEW ERA was beginning in the NBA, it’s reverted back to LA vs anyone else. I was enjoying watching a small market team like OKC rise so high and watching LeBron become a champion, but I guess the NBA will always be about LA Lakers.

I’m happy for my fellow Canadian Steve Nash, who will probably get 1-2 rings and retire.

Kobe Bryant will get his 6th ring, but is very likely to get 7 or 8 now.

Dwightmare Coward will get his rings as long as Kobe is around, but his legacy is ruined forever. He is nothing more than a SHAQ copycat. First with the whole “Superman” thing. Then ditching Orlando to play for LA. Trying to be an actor despite the fact that he is excrutiatingly bad. I used to like him, but now I have no respect for him.

Now the nets are in the best situation ever now the 76ers are screwed instead of the magic so here comes the bidding for bynum for the nets for lopez and picks then the nets can trade gerald wallace and marshon brooks, as 2 1srt round picks to the hawks because josh smith becomes a free agent next year this is awesome for the nets billy king its time to see the window that was just opened for you

The Magic are the biggest winners from this trade. No more Dwight Drama. As for the Lakers, I love the logic behind the approval of this trade. Last year, the Lakers wanted to give up Pau Gasol to get Chris Paul yet that was rejected by Stern. Now Dwight gets to go to a Lakers team that acquired Steve Nash, gets to keep Gasol, and only needs to give up Bynum. Guess you can’t argue with potential ratings!

this is beautiful. dwight will be an attractive incentive for chris paul, knowing what is already next door. paul and dwight will sign together for a long term future to been the new spotlights in Los Angeles through out the 2010’s. It’s only the “best option for them and thier families” as the normal saying goes. oh i love speculating when i feel it’s sooo close.

great trade for the lakers, and nuggets, and sixers…as for the magic. u guys mustve gotten lit up on something good by lakers GM. cuz u guys have lost it. u was better off sending him to the nets who was willing to give u Much Much more then what u have now….as for now…my brooklyn nets will happily take ur spot in the playoffs .

Orlando had the biggest star in the trade but it seems like they gained the least. Aaron Affalo,Al Harrington, 2 other no namers & future draft picks all from playoff contending teams. Also, remember Orlando just traded their best player in J-Rich & lost Ryan Anderson (reigind most improved player) in free agency. In the short-term(3-5yrs), Orlando doesn’t have a good shot of making the playoffs and in the long term all the promise is in the draft picks which may or may not pan out. They could’ve got a better trade by the deadline but probably didn’t want all the drama following Dwight to enter the regular season. Atleast get Bynum or even Igodula but to have your hopes and franchise really riding on draft picks just doesnt seem smart. I also feel sorry for their newly hired head coach because we know how short their leashes are and i just cnt see Orlando being successful for years to come.

I been a NBA fan for very long time but I this trade is one of the stupidest one ever.
Very poor choice for Howard.
Also I thought he said he would never go to Lakers because he didn’t want to follow
Shaq’s foot step…
Poor Bucks, Bobcats, Kings, and other non-superstar teams.

Probably a smart move for Orlando, as they wouldn’t have Dwight to re-sing next year, and this way they’ll get something for Dwight, but Lakers are taking a huge risk, as Howard said that he will be testing free agency next year.. The sad thing for me is Iguodala leaving Philly, as he is one of the best all-around and my favourite players, i think they’re losing a great leader (Bynum will be a force in the paint, but not a leader as Iguodala was)

It’s too bad Dwight’s getting lambasted all the time here. Does everyone overlook the many years he completely carried the Magic, never getting any real help, Stan content to overload the team with 3-point-shooters while Dwight held down the paint by himself? It’s been a longtime coming for Dwight to leave that team, and it’s only the team’s fault for not getting something better in a trade. They should have built a better, more solid team when they had him, and now they’re suffering the consequences. Period.

Magic didn’t get a good deal? I’d say what they got is better than receiving nothing when Dwight would have left after the season anyways… Magic should feel lucky they god this deal done before they ended up getting screwed over for waiting too long hoping he would return. He said he wanted out, they didn’t listen at first when they could have gotten a better deal. At this point, this is a great deal for them. Sure the Magic will not contend for a title, but they won’t be the bottom feeders they would have been if they let him leave without getting anything in return.

To refresh your hopes…. lakers won’t win anything….. They won’t get past 1st round of the playoffs..
1) howard isn’t 100%… herniated disc was repaired and some fragments removed…. He may heal his wound outside but not exactly inside wounds… Healing period would be a lot more slower since back muscles are constantly moving…. Rehab time gonna cost lakers his presence inside.

2)Nash is great a PG i love to see him with a ring… But can he really compete with younger faster and more skilled PG? CP3, Westbrook? All i know Nash is a liability on Defense….

3) can kobe really share the limelight with Howard… Or Just like another version of knicks in the west… Kobe demaded the ball always… howard wants the attention of all of his team mates…

4) After 2013 season do you really believe that dwight’s gonna sign contract extension… more Teams can offer him with bigger contracts like MAVS ROCKETS NETS….. D12 can earn much bigger check in just 4 seasons with other teams than 5 year contract offer of the lakers… Money still Money!!!! amount such as 108M$ in 4 years than 90M$ 5years in lakers….

During the last 2 years Howard put himself for sale instead of playing basketball.
I just hope he quit these trading games and show some sportmanship and focus on play basketball.
I am sure people are tiered of every day hearing Howards trade etc..

I am so happy DH chose LA. The nba finals next year will surely be LA vs Miami. i dont support either team but just think if both teams make the nba finals next year. It will be one of the most exciting nba finals ever.

Kobe, Nash, Gasol, Howard, World-Peace, Blake, Hill, Jamison, Barbosa, etc, etc, etc, Enough said. An OKC killer team. Disregard Miami, they won’t stand a chance. This will eventually put a stop to lbj posting stupid post about Howard in the Heat line up. Dream on lbj, it’s not going to happen in the next 3 years.

People, Stop saying stupid thing all the time. DH just follow The SHAQ Don’t you remember the shaq ??? Before he was a Lakers he was traded from Orlando to The Lakers and after that, everyone saw what happened to the Era Kobe / Shaq in the 2003/2004/2005, three championship ring in 3 years consecutively. This is what Dwight Howard will try to do right now. So he really made a good choice to go to the lakers. You like it or not this will be a good opportunity for DH to get the title and also to give to Kobe a new ring in his finger to equal Michael Jordan. Nash/Kobe/Howard/ Gazol/ Antoine Jemison OMG !!! A pretty good dam job from the GM of the Lakers.

Ok whatever, the GM of the Magic is stupid to have done this for sure. It wasn’t a pretty good move to have done that, but Let me tell you that, Everybody now see the Lakers as the next NBA champion next season don’t go so fast people. Don’t you remember again ???? When the Los Angeles Clippers acquired CP3 with Blake Griffin and Deandre Jordan everybody were focus on them, everybody said they will won the title, at least they will go to the final. Did they won the title this season ??? Did they go to the final ??? .. That right !! So, please just observe what will happened and that it !!!!

Bynum in the 76’s good job for the GM of the 76’s, too bad for Bynum to have been put out from the lakers like a trash !!! Da was so bad he was good with the lakers and grew up his play in every game with them, but this is what it is in the NBA today ! .. Just Hope for him he will get more maturity in his play the next season with this team

Denver Acquired Iguadala, they take the opportunity to get him into all this queen drama Howardmania, good move for them too. I’m glad for Iguadala, he will improve his game and his talent with Denver now.

For the Miami Heat doesn’t matter they’ll try to get another title whatever Howard is in the Lakers or not, and don’t forget they got Allen and Rashard Lewis back now. With Lebon/Bosh and Wade, ain’t gonna be easy for the new Lakers.

I’m just a casual NBA fan, so I hope someone can explain something to me. All the commentary I’ve read so far has been about just how screwed the Magic were on this deal. It seems to me that they got 4 players (ok, no superstars, but some competent NBA talent with a little potential upside) and 3 first-round draft picks for a guy who could very well have sleepwalked through the season, and took a powder, leaving them with nothing in return at all. To my mind, thats 7 more players than they would have gotten in the other circumstance. Moreover, even WITH Howard at center playing balls-out, it’s not like the Magic would be in contention for the Championship, anyway,,,would they? What am I missing here? Thanks, in advance.

laker fans make me laugh, you seriously think this guarantees you a ring? nope, the thunder are gonna be right there, and how will that headache called superman workout for you with a big ego in KOBE and a coach who I have no faith in to lead that team to the finals in mike brown? HA! oh and to the ppl saying miamis ring doesnt count because it was a shortened season, then the spurs ring of 99 doesnt either, just how ignorant are you? you still need 16 playoff wins and if the other teams are injured, well TOO BAD! its a sport where anything can happen! so derrick rose getting injured is miamis fault? iman shumpert? avery bradley? the thunder go from the best team in the nba to a bunch of kids who dont know how to play basketball? if the heat “fixed” the finals, then so did the thunder in game 6 vs the spurs, that was a major fix. Players out of shape? thats their problem, not the heats and they did well getting themselves ready and were hungrier than the rest, psh heat haters make laugh. and so does the laker bandwaggon. oh and this officially gets kobe out of the conversation for being the “next MJ” after this, the supporting cast this guy has had over his career has been way better than jordan ever had. FACT!

Stop the bitterness, everybody exaggerated everything. This is sport and no one cannot blame any organization. If they did not done much better in trading, so be it, end of story. People don’t know how hard for every organization to deal this such kind of situation. They’re not perfect. If a star player decided to go somewhere else, respect that, period.

Everytime a star player decided to be traded somewhere else, people talk trash, criticize, and even spitting on them. Respect their decision because bottom line, you cannot do anything about it, period.

I don’t really think the Magic should have done much better. They receive Moe Harkless and 3 first round draft picks, plus the minor comfort of Afflalo, Harrington, and Vucevic. I think people underestimate the power of 3 first round draft picks + a rookie first round selection. It’s just too bad that the Magic are currently very underequipped at the center position.

Im an Orlando fan and i like it. Ship em out if he doesnt want to play!!!. He’s gone anyway. Those round picks give us plenty of options for rebuilding. and a 20+mil salary cap space. what more can u ask for? Give it a year or two and we are back on track orlando all the way baby!!

The Lakers still have no answer for Westbrook or Durant. DH will make it harder for OKC to drive down the lane at will like last year. Gasol will still be out of position playing move of an outside game. It did not work last year with Bynum and will be the same with DH.

How did Dwight cause all of this. The owners and mangers in charge of building the team did!!! People think a player should not have any say so in their future. Dwight did what was good for him, he wanted to ted because he knows the team is not going anywhere!!!

How did Dwight cause all of this? The owners and mangers in charge of building the team did!!! People think a player should not have any say so in their future. Dwight did what was good for him, he wanted to leave because he knows the team is not going anywhere!!!

This league is done if player as immature as Howard controls the team. Magic organization got the worst in this trade. They didn’t get nothing to help their team in the present or in the future. Their new GM is not competitive, he just gave Lakers the chance to play for the championship. That’s bad for the league and the fans who wants to see competition He should just gave Howard away for a trade exception rather than getting some players they don’t need. Orlando Magic will not be in the playoffs for a long time.

Please, please have this resolved before the season starts. Put Howard somewhere for goodness sake and shut up about him. I’m not impressed with him on the court or off. He’s immature and disingenuous.

one possible scenario: Lakers win the champion in the 12-13 season ,Magics get the first pick in 2013 NBA draft ,and then in the summer of 2013 Howard come back to magic , Bynum back to Lakers,—— a double win indeed.

The lakers WILL win it all and Dwight will resign with a ring, and even if they fall short, they’re easily in the conference finals! that’s not a NASHTY big 3, WOW.

Steve Nash, Kobe, and Dwight? Nobody can say

The HEAT are gonna choke, cuz every dog has it’s day, and i could care less about their “upgrades”

Ray allen is old as dirt
Shane battier is a huge douche, and had his time to shine, he’s done for…
RaSHART Lewis has fell short time after time, but I have always admired his hot/cold sharpshooting regardless
And Juwan Howard… LMAO just had to throw him in there cuz of some posts i saw^^
Chris Bosh, You’re a huge baby who looks like predator

Much love to LBJ even though he left us hangin’ but if you’re a true Akron 330 mofo like me, you wave hi to the haters!!!

I’m a celtic fan for life !! but the lakers and the nuggets are the winners of this mega-trade !! Andrew Bynum is the most immature dominant center in the league he has a boiling point of 1.0 and go on the rampage mode throwing knees everywhere and cross line everybody haha!!!

For us Celtic fans its hard to see there best rival team is getting stronger ! i wish we are stronger than them but our team is taking transition to rebuild after next season or two so i think we have smaller chance of winning banner 18 this season

Is it me, or is this trade horrible??? For my Sixers…. not only do I not like Bynum and his half hearted efforts and creaky knees, but he’s also a free agent at the end of the season… plus, if they do re-sign him, then he’ll tie up a lot of money… I would’ve rather gotten Javale McGee…

As for Orlando. The GM is a retard.

Denver: They got a steal. It’s better for them to condense the roster in this way…

Farway, from Portugal i think that is a great deal for the lakers, it´s going to be more fun than ever wake up at the middle of the night and watch the Lakers. I´m from the Magic and Kareem generation, and right now, with Nash, Gasol, Howarth and of couse The Black Mamba this is gone be great, the showtime is back, Go Lakers

Sum this up simply as Lakers trade Bynum and one useless pick for Howard. No matter what Orlando get, the Lakers have made a steal. Surely the Magic can make the Lakers give up more??? (irrespective of the other teams)

i honestly dont think the lakers are leaders of the west… DH doesent even have a championship mortality and seems like everything is a joke and not serious on the court, and dwight howard isnt much better than bynum, all theyl do is throw lobs to howard because thats all he does he has maybe 1 post move and thats a hook shot nothing else. youve got an old and washed up kobe bryant and an old and washed up steve nash. i still dont see how they can beat the heat, when the heat got better from the addition of rashard lewis and ray allen to the BIG 3 . yes ray allen and rashard are pretty much washed as well, but they can atleast add lots of momentum to the bench with also battier and norris cole coming off the bench. im saying those because an old steve nash cannot keep up with westbrook and kendrick perkins can always compete with howard in guarding him.. and of course world peace who is also old cannot stop kevin durant. so i see another heat thunder finals but the heat will REPEAT!!GO HEAT!!!

lakers are the clear winners in this deal..
they retained Pau Gasol instead of trading him..
the biggest question is their Chemistry..
Howard definitely is a pain in the *$$ and Kobe’s ego..
this will be worse than the final year of shaq-Kobe tandem.

hey what happened BORElando???
you waited long enough to trade your primadonna and GOT NOTHING in return??
afflalo/harrington and a bunch of who are they??
they are the only losing team in this 4way deal.

sixers also won this deal with bynum and richardson.
denver is a more dangerous team with Iguodala..

LAL vs OKC in west finals..
but i still believe OKC will win the series..it’s up for the lakers to prove me wrong.

The way it’s being played out, almost every member on the team will have to be a superstar in order for the NBA to be enjoyable to watch. It almost makes me more excited to watch a Bobcats vs. Wizards game just to watch some decent, equally matched competition. It’s a damn shame…..another superteam.

I think the Lakers will regret this trade. Looks good on paper, but i suspect we’ll see a broken team come playoffs….Kobe, Pau, Nash, and the suspect back of Howard…I’d be very surprised if any of them play over 70 games this year.

Quite a risk giving up Bynum for a potential cronic back problem…but it looks like a championship on paper!

This is pathetic on the Magic’s part. I’m sort of a Brooklyn fan, but mainly a Chicago fan. I think the Magic should’ve took the Nets deal, or even the Houston Rockets deal. If they were looking for a great trade for the future, the Nets and Rockets both offered good deals. The Nets offered Lopez, Brooks, and i think Humphries, along with 3 first round picks. Rob Henningan played the waiting the game on us, and came up with this??? Even Houston’s deal was better. He basically kept us waiting for an epic fail. If your gonna give the best center in the league to a team thats already a champonship contender, you have to force some things. Get young, promising talent, and maybe a guy that is already good and can become an all star. Not 4 scrubs who haven’t really done anything in this league other than being role players. Brook Lopez is risky, but he’s more talented and more skilled than Vucevic. Marshon Brooks is being to Kobe Bryant for his scoring ability. Kris Humphries is a rebounding machine. Put those guys next to Jameer Nelson and Turkoglu. You have a decent starting lineup. PLus you would give up some HUGE contracts to the Nets and creat cap space for the future.

ROB HENNINGAN FAILED IN THIS TRADE. BOBCATS WILL BE BETTER NEXT SEASON

In a seven game series, Miami would likely prevail, but it will be close. Chemistry issues for the Lakers, not the Heat, could be their downfall. If the Lakers were to acquire another piece or two for bench production, and add a unhappy big fella from Orlando, this is a downright scary team.

Miami is done….they got Rey Allen and Rashard Lewis, thats good enough for the Heat. They are gonna be in finals again next year…hopefully Lakers will make it in the finals too but have to beat OKC first :D

Listen im sorry guys all this talk about Miami,Lakers,and Thunder is irrelevant because the Celtics are stronger than ever now. Watch with our new additions to the team, and even with Jeff Green coming back, the Celtics are not to be forgotten. You saw how they did last season. We have bradley back plus J the Jet Terry. You will all see the Green Light Soon!

Lets begin by saying 3 draft picks is an amazing boost for a franchise. The players Orlando received in the trade clearly are not keepers, and they were never meant to be. Look at it this way; say you do pick up an elite player if your Orlando you would be in the same predicament as before. Unless that particular allstar had years and I want to stress YEARS on his contract in order to rebuild. Otherwise your gonna have one stud with a team of average and no way to get better.

I still believe they could have done better in regards to draft pick location maybe one team that was projected to be lottery… duh…

Don’t forget they can always make another trade 3 first rounders for high pick would be my guess. They will be in the lottery for sure, all they need is one more and they are two shots in the dark away from regaining their composer. lol

So you think that bryant and nash getting any younger ? And god knows if howard will be healthy or not for the full season, and Miami’s big three proved that without roster depth it is almost impossible to win championships, and on top of that guess what? Mike Brown ain’t Uncle Phil

As a die-hard Magic fan I’m happy that the Dwightmare is finally over. I can’t say for sure if this was a great trade for us, only time will tell. However I can say this, after suffering through years where our best players were named Reggie Theus, Darrell Armstrong, Dennis Scott, or Scott Skiles, I’m optimistic about the future. Rebuilding a culture takes dramatic change, which is often painful. In this age of instant gratification, if this sets the foundation for a quality program that can contend for future titles year in and out like the Spurs or OKC, then I’m all in! Let’s face facts, it was time to move on, and even with Dwight Howard, we were a middle of the road team (good enough to make the playoffs, but never seriously contend for a championship). We would be just good enough to not get any good draft picks. This gives us flexibility and options and I’m eager to see how that plays out going forward.

I honestly don’t care what team Howard is going to but I don’t think that Orlando got the best deal in return. They not getting much. The Sixers are getting Bynum & Richardson. The Nuggets are getting Igudola. The Lakers get Howard & Duhon. The Magics get Arron Afflalo, Al Harrington and 3 future 1st round picks…that’s nothing. Plus those 3 future first round picks will be late round picks and not lottery picks. Paul Gasol should have been included in that deal and should be headed to the Magics. When you do a trade especially when it involves a All Star Center, make the deal fair for the other team.

Now Lakers just need to trade Gasoft and World Peace. MWP is alright, but the league dislikes him so he’s a liability as he gets a lot of false flagrants and fouls called against him. Get rid of them and you’re good. Maybe trade both of them for Josh Smith or Joakim Noah, or even Chris Bosh.

Orlando needed to rebuild and this is as good a way as any… They got 3 protected 1st round picks and will probably get some lottery picks in the next year or two as they’ll probably be battling the Bobcats for the prestigious 15th spot in the East :) Provided future drafts are deep and with plenty of talent, they could still get something out of this… In the NBA it’s sometimes better being bad than mediocre, in the longterm at least…
I would loved to have seen Gasol there though, to see how he performs as a go-to-guy… I think he is not being optimally utilized with LA…

I also want steve nash to win his first ring but unfortunately BAD LUCK joins them.
Before they even think of winning, they must overcome OKC first. Howard can only dominate weaker centers and smaller than him. Perkins can handle him 1 on 1 with his one and only post move, posting up turns to the center with jump hook. LOL

This is apparently the league the NBA wants to be; a few brand-name teams with multiple all stars competing for a championship every year. Ironic for a league that lets teo-thirds of its membership in the ridiculousy-extended playoffs. Did the league decide the development league wasn’t working and this is the next best team? Will some of the have-not teams close up shop or move closer to large cities; more teams in L.A. And New York? Or maybe this is the best the NBA can do since it’s major marketing approach for decades has been featuring individual players over teams, cities, team rivalries and such. Maybe it’s just what happens when the lunatics run the asylum for this long. The league has great potential, but squanders much go it. For one, I am much less interested than ever before.

Tim H:
Well, internationally, you’re not gonna find many Minnesota fans, for example. Unless you get one of these, comes out of nowhere, superstars, like KG. (and it happens a lot; random chance.. Anyone could have gotten J Lin for minimum salary last year as an example.)
And even then, interantionally, it’s easier to get support for NY or LA, Chicago. Everyone knows where NY is. And, no offense to Minnesota people, just an example; but it’s true, ask any european or asian where “Minnesota” is, and they’ll scratch their head: “somewhere in the USA?” (question mark intended)
It only makes sense to keep the fuel in the “relevant” teams.
I’ve watched the NBA since around 86, always a NYK fan. When Patrick Ewing left, and the knicks collapsed, I just stopped watching. For almost a decade, the Knicks were bad, and the NBA lost me as a follower. I don’t wanna watch a league without the powerhouses LA, NY, Chicago & co. After the acquisition of Amare, I was 100% back onboard, a paying NBA customer, visting nba.ciom every day, to see if the Knicks get someone good, etc.. Add a NY championship, and I’ll probably be wearing a T. Chandler jersey.

Another argument I could add is: the playoffs. The playoffs are a time of magic for basketball: finally you see just the best teams facing off again and again. How boring would it be if all the teams were near 50-50 % at the end of the season?! The playoffs wouldn’t be so special. A league needs this. In any sport. As a parallel, if the english soccer league suddenly lost Manchester United as a huge dominant force with world recognition, they’d lose millions of fans overnight; not just team fans, but league fans. And league fans, team fans == $$.

i dont fully understand how trades are made in the nba and all this stuff regarding salary cups etc but i do know that right now nba is very close to ruining its product by allowing such trades to be completed.i cant even imagine how on earth is it approved to have in one team probably the best point guard of the last decade,the best shooting guard to ever play the game behind mj,one of the top-5 power forwards right now in the nba and the best center in the league..what okc has done over the years with its roster is a result of excellent draft choices and even the heat had to totally empty their roster to put the trio together..but it seems to me that all the lakers have to do is just pick the guy they want and it will be delivered to them right away..congrats to lakers for the 2012-2013 nba championship!!

Let’s just face it…the GM who replaced Otis Smith doesn’t know what he’s doing. If Gasol was supposed to be in this trade to come to Orlando, that’s where Gasol should’ve gone. Another display of horrible management. All this they waited too long to get rid of Dwight is irrelevant.

People need to realize that in the end its a business. Orlando had many better options than the one they chose, but David Stern is after profit and will pull moves like this to create a buzz and make profit. Its a corrupt system but what can you do? I honestly think that even with Howard the Lakers won’t even make the finals out of the West. If they do, they won’t win.

This was one of the worst trades i´ve seen , its as bad as it could be. Im sure other teams ( nets , rockets ) had much better deals for Orlando than this .

If i was a GM in Orlando i would never make a trade to the team that stole their All-Star center (o´neal ) 20 years ago..
Sorry Orlando but you deserve this , and to fall into obscurity for another 10+ years.

Actually the Nuggets traded that ungrateful quitter’s butt for Gallinari, Mozgov, Chandler, Felton (until he would get exchanged for Miller), and Koufos. Look at the Knicks now, they are getting attention and nothing else; they would just become playoff fodder thanks to that loser named Carmelo Anthony.

It was just the matter of time for the Lakers to get him. And its a pretty good trade for LAL. But is it great for the Magic? I’m not sure about it.
Kobe can now go for the next ring or two. We’ll see.
This is gonna be a hell of a full season!!
Anyway.. GO HEAT! :)

A FORECAST OF MINE: THE LAKERS WILL GO STRAIGHT TO THE FINALS AND FACE THE MIAMI HEAT AND EVENTUALLY LOST AT SEVEN GAMES..LBJ WIL BE NAMED AGAIN MVP…..SO SORRY DWIGHT….GO FIND ANOTHER TEAM WHERE THERE ARE MORE STARS……..WHY NOT GO TO OKC?….OR TO BOSTON?…………WELL….AFTER ALL…….MIAMI HEAT WILL SURELY GET ANOTHER RING……..AHAHHAHAHHAHAHHA

the Orlando GM must be thinking: why did i make this trade? coz we won 3 mediocre picks and 4 players that arent even allstars. ” The blame ia on the Orlando staff that allowed crybaby Howard to do everything he wanted. Just hope that this team works (lal) so Nash can have his 1st ring. He deserves more than anybody in this league.

The stage is set for LA and Miami Finals. It will have a huge boost to the market internationally.
A lot of us here outside U.S. would love to watch the epic battle between kobe and lebron before he retires.
Kobe is not only a player but an icon and when he’s gone he will take some NBA ratings with him.
It would take a while before someone would take over his iconic role.

No idea what these guys in Orlando are up to! They waived several way better offers from Brooklyn and Houston to stick with that deal which has a clear winner: LA and an even clearer LOSER: ORLANDO! So congratulations to LA for that deal and to Orlando: better go to school and learn! ;)

you have to veto this trade stern. how can the lakers get d12, earl clark and another player and just give up bynum. this is so absurd. bottom line is, this is worst than the cp3 trade. this trade should only go down if gasol is included in the trade. enough for super teams, at least the big 3 in miami join thru free agency and have to give up a large chunk of their salary to be able to do so. but this is so sickening. gasol must be included in the trade and be in orlando to make this trade fair. if you’re a laker fan, ask yourself and judge it with no bias, you know this is not fair, the hell, you always get the best players in the league, but bynum for howard straight up is already a steal, but to get d12 + 2? highway robbery….. yes i am a heat fan. and Yes we did!!!!

Not surprising to see Heat fans start crying foul. Through free agency or trades super teams will continue to be created. Of all people to complain about the way a team was formed, again, it’s no suprise a Heat fan, whose team was accused and most likely guilty of collusion in acquiring its Big 3, would be crying the loudest. As a Laker fan I’ve asked myself is this fair and the answer is a resounding yes. Stern shafted LA when he vetoed the very legitimate CP3 deal prior to the season and the basketball gods have now made amends. The Lakers window will be small with all the relevant talent being so old (obviously excluding D12) but so is the Spurs and Celtics. The Thunder and Heat should remain favorites in their respective conferences but LAL has certainly reloaded.

Magic definitley should of taken Brooklyn’s trade instead. Potential all star center in Lopez to go along with marshon brooks who looks like is going to be a great player both are younger and better than harrington and afflalo bad move by orlando!

The article fails to mention Howard gave them every opportunity to work a deal in all this time. ORL wanted to maximize the draw of having a Dwight Howard. He led them to the Finals. Glad he is a Laker. When does training camp start?

If Magic trade DH12 for one superstar it would be not enough. There is a few in the league who could be alternative for Howard.
If Magic doesn’t trade him at all it would be tragedy.

It is not new GM’s fault that DH12 wanted out. It was Otis Smith’s. The best for Magic would be if Howard wanted to stay and wasn’t such a pussee. The best would be building team around him. The mess lefted by O.Smith was too much for a rookie GM, but even a veteran would have troubles there.

Now it’s new era. Howard is gone (and was gone few when this drama started) They have two good players, one future player (could be good) – Vucevic. One rookie who have potential to be decent three. Picks could be trade pieces in future. It’s not so bad for me. Sixers done better than Lakers. They finally have an allstar center. Denver took what they didn’t need.

Well I guess everybody is trying to pursue the whole big 3 concept, not sure it will work for every team but I’ll be glad once the league gets back to true team basketball and I am in hopes that the 2012-2013 Finals will be won by a team that doesn’t have a big 3 and that this whole foolishness and uncompetitiveness disappears (which I’m sure it won’t because of the times we are living in). Nobody wants to compete like years ago when MJ competed against Magic and Larry Bird, you didn’t see them guys trying to form a big 3! Everybody’s trying to take the easy route instead of running their own team. Not a good deal to me because he’s clearly following Shaq’s footsteps but Shaq was a better player and center obviously and there still aren’t any guarantees here. Lakers will make the Finals but I’m not so sure about getting the Ring unless OKC beats them again because they are only going to get better (those young guys) and they have experience now.

MJ had Scottie and Rodman, adn the refs, big 3. Bird had McHale and Parish and other hall of famers, big 3. Magic had Kareem and Worthy, big 3. Everytime in history, the winning teams were big 3’s or something similar. The only one in recent history without a big3 that won IIRC was Kobe winning with just Gasol. So yeah.

Also guaranteed ring for LA this year. OKC can’t do anything against Dwight, as Westbrook and Harden are nullified by his presence, and both Ebanks and Kobe can guard Durant well. Heat’s biggest weakness is and always will be Dwight, as he nullifies all driving to the hole, and Kobe has proven each and every year that he can Lebron or Dwade 1 v1. Bosh may be a problem, but I remember Dwight kinda shutting him down.

I’ve never been a real laker fan but their team has always looked promising despite last season. And when everyone said to trade gasol after their loss, i figured that the first person they should have gotten rid of was bynum if anything. With that done and their acquisition of nash, they’ll be an even bigger threat

I don’t understand how Magic did not manage to get Bynum or Iggy. Every other team in this deal gave up something but got something back in similar quality in return. LA give up a young all-star center = get D.Howard; 6ers give up an all-star in Iggy = get Bynum; Denver give up afflalo & harrington = get iggy. Yet the magic give up the best center in the league, and year they got lottery picks, but they are lottery picks that probs wont get them a top 3 pick. They should of at least got Iggy along with one or 2 first rounders for giving up Dwight. But hey…they had no choice I guess. Poor old Orlando. WIll be a long long season.

Crazy deal! I can’t judge really not knowing how many 1st round pics they got. But I guess that’s what Orlando wanted trying to start off by drafting well like OKC did for a couple of years. Getting some average players for Dwight doesn’t help you on the long term anyways. Or would you say Denver is really competing for a championship or is getting close to it in near future after getting some good players for Carmelo? Orlando wouldn’t really have gotten more for Dwight.

And to blame Rob Hennigan is flat out stupid if you ask me. Being that fresh in Orlando I guess a lot of decisions are still made by Alex Martins and the DeVos family themselves. So folks, think before you write, please… ;)

In my personal opinion it was wise, not to take Bynum in return. He was hard to motivate competing for a title in LaLa land. Do you really believe you could count on him in rebuilding mode??! Guess not…

Uh, is the dude who wrote this article from Orlando? bitter much? Orlando is CLEARLY in a re-building process and they got the cap relief and draft picks needed to build towards the future. What’d this guy think, that the magic were gonna get anyone to help them this year? Wasn’t gonna happen. So you build towards the future. N to the dude up top in the comments section talking about the Houston offer n how AMAZING it was. Houston couldn’t afford to take Richardson and give Orlando cap relief, which was one of their pre-requisites in this trade. They weren’t going to land a big time guy cuz they didin’t want Bynum or Gasol. This is the right move for the future of this organization and works for all parties invovles. So, that being said, expect David Stern to stop this trade tomorrow. Okay, probably not but let’s be real, it wouldn’t be the first time he screwed the Lakers over this season. However in hindsight, things played out perfectly for the Lakers. They only got Nash because of the trade exemption they got when Bynum decided he wanted out after the CP3 deal fell through. N after all this, they got Howard AND kept Gasol. It worked out perfectly. Lakers are the team to beat now. The miami skeet can bow down

Incorrect but thanks for playing. Houston is still presently under the cap. We are so far under the cap next year we will have enough for two max contracts. In fact, according to Hollinger on ESPN we could have absorbed J-Rich and Turk with Dwight and been under the cap. The Rockets deal also included a guaranteed lottery pick from Toronto and young players and expirings from Houston. Orlando gave Dwight to LA just like Memphis did Gasol. People outside of LaLa land are getting bored with the trend.

Idiotic… The Magic are retarded by giving up Howard for exactly nothing. They got first round draft picks from Play-Off Contendors so these are worth exactly nothing because those will not end up in the draft lottery… They got back Afflalo wich is a good player but not a franchise player, same counts for Vukcevic and the other guys, so this is the worst trade they could’ve made. They shoulded have traded with the Brooklyn Nets and the Cavaliers, then they would’ve came up better then they did right now. And at the other hand, everybody was complaining and crying about the Heat and they’re team, but this is far worse then the Heat’s team. Nash, Kobe, Artest (doesn’t deserve World Peace), Jamison/Harrington & Howard. 4 All Stars on one team! Long live the lockout

TBH as good as the trade looks for the Lakers i don’t think they will win vs spurs or thunder in the finals, they have three guys who are going to want the ball in their hand everyone cant have it every possession and someone will have to be the ‘Chris Bosh’ of the three but in saying that i still think they will be contenders

The commissioner needs to block this travesty of a Trade. WTH, do they think the public is STUPID? The Lakers are Spoiled rotten and the goal is to make the headlines HEAT vs LAKERS in a Championship game. This is a travesty. I am going to start a petition on Change.org to have this trade blocked. This is not only bad business but the whole league is rigged if they keep this $hit!

They gave in to Howard. Unreal. They should have moved hjim to Houston or demanded Gasol be added to the package like he was earlier in the day. What changed? That is an inexperienced GM for the Magic got raked over the coals.

Houston offered 3 (!) first round picks on this draft, which are all going to be good players, as far as it could be foreseen after the Summerleague, also Scola or Martin, and some picks on the future drafts. Orlando declined it.

Brooklyn offered Brook Lopez, Humphries, Brooks, one more player (not sure who that was), and several draft picks (actually, they were going to stay with D-Will, Joe Johnson, Gerald Wallace, D12, Turkoglu or J. Richardson, and bunch of D-League guys, because other half of their roster was traded for Jo-Jo). Orlando declined it.

Now they were offered Vucevic (not a name called by media on daily basis), Harrington (great player, but susceptible to injures), and Aaron Afflalo (is he going to be the main scorer now?), along with 1-st rounder from Philly. No Bynum, no Gasol, no Iguodala. They accepted it.

Oh, wait. Maybe it’s April the 1’st?

Remember that they lost Ryan Anderson in free agency. Really great player, their second scoring outside, inside, rebounding option. They fired Van Gandy, and GM Otis Smith also.

Orlando bosses: if you wanna break Charlotte’s last year’s record, just say it. Because now thousands of fans across the world turn gray. You couldn’t done it worse.

Agree with JIM all the way! Also; never had anything against the Lakers, but now I do… I hope MettaWP/Artest and him get into a fight, with Dwight wanting to be liked by everyone he’ll skip town oncemore! BTW, if they want to be contenders, Kobe’s gonna have to learn how to change those huge Diapers of Dwight’s…

Maybe LAL is really an illuminati organization and the triangle offense is their symbol (triangle, pyramid whatever), and when their system changed (Mike Brown), the other illuminati organization (David Stern) blocks the trade. Now, with the princeton offense that they will imply this season (which is supposedly similar to the triangle offense), they again have this symbol of the illuminati, and the trade’s not being blocked whatsoever by Stern

Magic shouldve gotten alot more for dwight howard than they ended up getting. The organisations persistent reluctance to trade howard has come around and bitten them in their metaphorical butts. As Sekou said, magic traded the best player, and didnt receive a top 3 in return.
Instead of getting bynum, and a number of first round picks like orlando wanted the entire time (or so we thought) they have ended up with afflalo and harrington as the centrepieces of the trade. You cant simply replace orlando’s style of play and their unique team structure with these two above average role players at best. Its insane to think that the magic would corrupt their own organisation to such a degree.
Look out for orlando to be one of the bottom teams in the east now.
RIP orlando magic

Well i am glad that deal is done and for my opinion Orlando is not looser in this case. They got two average players Afflalo – Harrington and three 1st round picks. Of course they will be rubbish this season but i am sure they will improve a lot next year with decent rookies. It looks like same rebuilding story in Houston. So see you later Orlando and Houston.
I am really looking forward for next season with upgraded LA, Miami if they stay healthy they look better than Thunders, Spurs, Clippers or Boston.
So at this stage my bet is on LA.

Ok I HAVE to hear this. The ONLY way for Miami to get Dwight at this point is to trade with the Lakers. Miami will not have money to just sign him. And even if they did, they still cant offer a contract the size the Lakers can according to the CBA.

In order for the Lakers to trade away the guy theyve been trying to get for a year now, your going to have to give us Lebron.

Oh whow! This trade solidifies the Lakers like no other team on the west. Great job by Mitch in his persistency to deliver the final piece in an extremely active offseason for the Lakers. There will be some drama, as it is part of the package that comes with Howard, but I dont see Howard leaving LA after getting his first of what could be several rings. Kobe, Gasol, Nash, Howard, and MWP, the most potent starting line up in the NBA. An all star starting line up, what other team in the NBA can say that. The expectations are tremendous, the only question that remains is, can Brown get the job done. In LA it’s championship or bust, Brown better come with it this season. Once again, great job Mitch. The pieces are in place, let the games begin.

Wow! The Lakers are really improving. With all these superstars coming to L.A., they will be unstoppable! I can’t wait to watch every game this season, no team will beat them in the play offs. Miami and Oklahoma will make good games, but they won’t beat L.A. in the finals. Go Lakers!

Mr Steve…i think you hate this trade because you hate lakers getting howard. The GM made a great work taking young people and 3 first round pick to make a new era and a new team…..explain how would be possible a better scenario landing an allstar like bynum and let him go in one year?? Anyway for me the real winners are the sixers, they lose a great forward and his first round pick this year and the next one for the 2nd best C in the league, in center-less east, they can make a great job against the heat or celtics, if bynum makes grown his head like franchise player…….

magic franchise is too dumb! they should have accepted the brooklyn nets offer to trade for howard. they should have gotten better players. 1st round picks of lakers, sixers and nuggets can’t be on the top 10 surely, because they are a playoff team and for sure their picks would range to 15th pick up

I’ve been a Laker fan since the three peat and im a 90’s baby (1994) so I am no bandwagonner…I believe this trade has made the Lakers a bigger threat than we where the night before when we still had bynum…Dont get me wrong, Drew wazz a hell of a player but he lacked tht killer instinct tht Dwight has shown over the years…Hopefully his back can hold up and more than ever I hope are new BIG 4 can gell and be successful right from the get go and when the games get widdled down to a best out of seven…And for the sake of Laker Land Dwight please sign a damn extension!!!!!!

From what i saw in another blog, Magics still get nothing from this mega trade. Yes, salary caps look better and enough for seek All-star player next summer. I just hope that Magic will not get worse like MJ team.

I think right now the key in the West is how Jamison will adapt in LA, because if he Kobe, Nash, Hill and Gasol find chemistry(Howard will do his job of being the most dominant force in the paint) no one will be able to handle them…no hard feelings to the Heat but Miami can’t stop all those weapons, and with Artest, Kobe, Howard and Hill, LA will have no problems stopping Bosh and Wade(especially with Mike Brown on the helm, whose speacialty as we all know is D)

what in the world is wrong with the Orlando Magic . . .this deal was nowhere near the brookly nets offer . . .an all star center . . .several young and up and coming players 4 draft picks and taking away one of their big contracts . . .they instead deal with the lakers who got howard for bynum and a late first round pick . . .and orlando doesn’t even get bynum . . .who if he gets his head straight will become the most dominant center in the nba in 3 or 4 years . . .this sounds like the pau gasol for little brother gasol shady deal several years ago . . .orlando has the dumbest people running their organization . . .the bobcats are sure happy they are no longer the laughing stock of the nba

In all honesty, I think you should hire a GM like SEKOU SMITH. The commentaries are on point. The MAGIC did not learn anything from its past experience of trading the most dominant center of all time SHAQUILLE O’NEAL and getting away with nothing. The best deal should have been getting away with GASOL who in his own right is legitimate center. Its a sad day for the MAGIC organization. Instead of moving forward after years of toil and heartaches, the thing is its back to square one.

I am torn right now, I want Nash to get his ring but at the same time I really don`t want this self proclaim superman to get one.
Firing JVG and trading Anderson are both huge mistakes. Lottery time for Orlando.
“My back hurts” Howard doesn`t want people compare him to Shaq and he`s following EVERY footsteps of Shaq.
Shaq got to finals in Orlando, got swept. after a few years and free agent time. Went to LA.
Sounds familiar?

The only thing I sort of agree is Orlando letting Van Gundy walk. It’s 50/50 as he did a reasonable job in the few yrs making the team competitive & been to the finals once. The rest of it….. Steve, I’d like to see you go ahead & negotiate a deal & see what happens. It’s a no brainer that the Magic wanted to get the most from the deal & it’d be STUPID to think they didn’t try & not good enough the deals. Remember, the other teams also know of Orlando’s situation & may want to wait it out. There’s also the complcation of salary cap & tax issues. If you criticize this way, pl show us the math & all relevant considerations.

Looks like LA Lakers might get a shot at another championship well for dwight and nash they deserve to have a ring they have work their butt off for their team to make it to the playoffs and try and get to the finals and it looks like for both of them LA might be the best place to have a ring with kobe and gasol a 1-2 punch duo the Lakers might become the champion once more but it’s a good thing that nash was traded to LA Lakers cause of that Kobe can give some of the pressure to Nash on offence while Gasol can have another helping hand in the low post with the presence of dwight howard so for the Lakers both their Defense and Offence will increase big time so for all of the lakers nation it looks like its time to gear up for LA might go to the NBA Finals

I don’t get this: “The Denver Nuggets should have done it with Carmelo Anthony”…They DID do it with Melo, trading him when they could for the best deal they could get. He wanted out, told them as much and they got a great deal for him. Most Nugget’s fans agree that we are just as good if not better off without him. The Magic could have waited and got a better deal but they got desperate to enter training camp with him gone and got a not-so-great deal. Iggy coming to Denver is great though! Hopefully he can play the 2 and play well with Gallo/Chandler or one of them has to go!

As diva as he may be, the Magic organization are also at fault here, for spoiling Howard over the years and giving lucrative contracts for good role players instead of getting a superstar (or two) that would compliment D12. How can one organization fall from being one of the elite teams to a downright mediocre one, we’ll never know.

Denver won this deal. Besides elite defenseand being an olympian, Iguodala is a very good leader for the young players on the Nuggets squad. He could very well push them above Memphis and ,less probably, LA Clippers.

The magic did fine.. afflalo is a really solid player and vucevic and harkless can be good starters in this league…only thing left for them is too go and find a new super star.. something they would have had to do in any deal

hahahahahahhaha————–please blame the Owner and the CEO of the Magic for this one——————Dumbest GM ever. Didn’t Houston offer Orlando promising young prospects and first round draft picks? Instead he takes this trade……….Oooooh come on, you cant be serious with this one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and who the #*!’!# is this GM??? i really need to know, cause i will laugh over him for the rest of my life , so dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb and stupid

no matter how much it may have made sense to keep Stan Van Gundy, the guy sounded like a screaming pig being cooked over a slow roasting fire–and he sweated like one too. That guy must’ve been murder to listen to…I can’t imagine listening to a braying donkey drawing up the key play at the end of a game–midsummer night’s dream 2 ought to cover this.

i hate the lakers and i always have but i must say their definitely gonna win a championship this year they have a super team the space jam MONSTERS Jordan cant stop them bugsbunny daff duck ect Steve Nash+ Dwight Howard+Kobe Bryant+Pau Gasol I know people say Gasol is soft in which he is but they have Steve Nash, Steve Nash makes players look so much better

wow what a stupid deal the magic got robbed. i feel very sorry for all those magic fans who are problably like wtf. it makes no sensethat you would want picks from a team like the lakers nuggets and sixers.

I like the 3 first round picks and getting Harrington. Afflalo. Vucevic and Harkless…. I think it was more than enough…. Howard isnt that great getting rebounds, blocking and dunking…. he doesnt even know how to make free throws and somehow attack inside…. people would say how about Shaq…. Shaq was great defense and offense,,,, forget the free throws… and he is a team player

So they get Dwight and still manage to keep Gasol? Sounds like a pretty darn good deal to me. Bynum was having issues with his knee and may not have developed in as quickly as many had hoped. So loosing him may not be so bad. But getting Dwight and still keep Gasol sounds like the Lakers are once again the richest team getting richer…

why dont you think back of the things Howard did for the Magic?? why you people always tend to criticise the player??? didnt he carry them to the NBA FINALS??? and what they did the next season to upgrade his cast ?? practically nothing, i dont want to see howard like nash… great players future hall of famers without a ring…
CMOON…even lebron got one…

Kobe, Nash, Howard and Pau LA is a championship contender again, next season is promising. Miami is super strong, Boston got upgraded and OKC got experience, also Denver looking even better Let the show begin!!!

what is this nonsense should have done better howard could of left magic with nothin what soever and to be honest like most of you i grew to hate howard over this course of media surrounded around him but now that i think of it how is it any worse then what lebron did or anyone that has joined forces with anyone else in the history of the nba the magic have had bottom over paid players since magic lost to the lakers in the finals a few years ago. Out of alot of trades i have seen i would say the biggest winners are philly obviously lakers are goin to be a dynasty but things in the east have gotten alot more interesting , it will be nice to see teams actually contend with the heat and as for the lakers good luck every other western confrence team your gonna neeed it

lol. How could you compare the two? Lebron honered his contract and kept his mouth shut. He moved on as a free agent, which was his right. . Howard on the other hand demanded a trade,, opted in another year, then demanded to be traded all over again. At least lebron honered his commitment and didn’t cry like a big baby.

Should have taken Brook Lopez and Marshon Brooks with draft picks from the Nets. Easily the best offer there was. Both are young, talented with very high potential. I agree with you joe, what a dumb GM.

I cannot believe it..I think the Lakers make the wrong trade.They shouldn’t trade their young talent again for a old talent!!!like Howard because it has high possibility that Howard will weaken because of the injuyr is facing but still I am sure L.A will win again this year thanks for the add of Jamison a player like Odom.This team is a lot greater this year than the years they won their last championships

Truly disappointing that Orlando allowed themselves to get screwed over this badly. Just Looking at their current roster, you’d have to give serious thought to whether the Bobcats have a Better list at this point in time. Should have taken the Nets deal.

great trade for the sixers. Personally I would rather bynum than dwight. Dwight is going to get a shock next season when he plays with kobe. Bynum puts up good numbers with kobe taking all those shots while dwight does it when he is the only star on his team.

Spot On article.. I never disliked a player more then I I dislike Howard, but blame the Owner and the CEO of the Magic for this one. They bowed down to Howards every wish, forgetting that a franchise is a heck of alot more then one player. You would think Devos would have learned from past mistakes he has made with its superstars, but apperantly he doesn’t.. Its ground hog day all over again in Orlando, where a Diva superstar whined his way to a coach being fired and eventually out of town, leaving the franchise with very little to show for it.

I sincerely wish Howard became another ringless star like Barkley or Ewing, Im not a hater, but the way he handled this was worst than Lebron did. Lebron was right, Cleveland didnt wanted to spend money on a supporting cast, but Orlando did it every single season. Howard doesnt have a ring because he cant do anything else but dunk and block shots. He doesnt have post moves, mid range shooting or free throw shooting. He doesnt have a ring yet because his useless in closing minutes on tight games.

You can’t be anymore wrong. None of these superstars came into the league played for their dream team or demanded to be traded like Eli Manning. They contributed to the team that drafted them and played as hard as they can. Regular people would just quit the job and move on to a better one. NBA players tied by contract has every right to move onto a better job that will fulfill their goal of winning a championship. Orlando is not going to build a championship team for Howard period, just like Cleveland will never do it for Lebron. Anyone who excel at his career but unfortunately trapped in a terrible job, peoples’ recommendation for him will always be to move on as soon as possible.

I’ve been a Lakers fan for many years while growing up in SoCal, but I can honestly say that I’m realistic when it comes to judging a teams’ ability to reach the finals. The acquisition Howard, along with Nash, Jamison, Hill, and Company truly makes this team a contender. No doubt, this squad will push the Spurs and Thunder to their limits. You have a group of guys who who are born leaders and will pick up the load when needed. Nash is similar to kobe in the sense that they both expect excellence and will lead by example. With a full training camp and preseason under their belt they will be primed to take on the best of the best.

Are you seriously talking about JORDAN Hill? He’s a good backup player, but of course not nearly as good as Grant Hill, who went to LA, but on the Clippers’ side… ;)
As a Lakers fan myself, I think LAL will be a tough contender, but I’am afraid of what will happen in two years: if Howard hasn’t change his mind, next summer he will look for another team. So I fear another 2004…

I’m a fellow Lakers fan and I agree with you all the way;however I must say that one of the reasons I opposed this trade was the feeling that its some kind of overkill I mean look at that starting lineup. And of course I love Bynum and I hope he keeps improving.
I do wish for a good spread of talents though, let there be more teams. I think the Clippers gave Kupchak and Buss a jolt lol!

So because James left in free agency he did not love his team? Steve maybe you don’t know the same Dan Gilbert as everyone else, but I know he loved making money off Lebron more than he ever actually like him.

uhhh first off memphis wanted expiring draft picks and young talent and they got marc gasol. and also this is where i swear people are so dumb. THE ROCKETS NEEDED NO KNOW IF DWIGHT WOULD SIGN A LONG TERM DEAL AND HE SAID NO I WOULD NOT.

THE ROCKETS WOULD NOT AGREE TO THE DEAL!!! why would they give up all that for essentially, nothing in return.

@allan I hope you’re being sarcastic. When you look at the trade now its fair but at the time it was trading a player that looked to be a role-player at best and an expiring contract for an allstar big man.

How much more should they have gotten!? Aren’t 4 players and several 1’st round draft picks more than enough?? Or does Orlando think they should get 15 players for the price of 1?? That’s just a greedy GM who lost out big time on this deal. Sorry Orlando, but Afflalo and Harrington aren’t enough to help you at this stage, but good luck anyway. GO KNICKS!!!!

You should have given up Gasol and Bynum like it was discussed earlier today and months ago. You got off just moving Bynum! That is hogwash. Nash and Kobe and Howard and you still kept Gasol and added Jamison along with Artest.

The NBA sits by and will let this happen because they want that large market money with NY and LA from the Knicks, Nets, Lakers and Clippers!

That’s BS! The Lakers every time you look up get Hall of Fame Centers for almost nothing in return! Chamberlain, Kareem, Shaq, and now Howard. NONE OF THEM drrafted by the Lakers.

The lakers are a franchise that players want to go to. They like the city, they like the market size, the team have proven they will spend the money and build contenders. They have also shown that they can wait until they have the right deal and make their move, in the process withstanding criticism from impatient fans (and players). Howard is a much better fit for the lakers than Bynum but even on this thread, people can’t agree whos better. it wasn’t a total steal although to me, Howard is clearly better. With the Gasol trade, Memphis wanted young talent and expiring contracts. Kwame Brown was the biggest expiring contract in the league and the lakers gave up Mark Gasol – the grizzlies have been fine. Shaq simply wanted to be in LA…and to go back in time before that is irrelevant as it was a different league. Yes the lakers have some advantages over other teams but they’ve also consistently shown they know what they are doing unlike most of the teams. Credit where credit is due.

there are actually a lot of small market teams who are good and who have been good, spurs, okc, memphis, miami…it’s other teams like orlando or the bobcats or the wizards that complain about everything, but if you look at their history they make the dumbest decisions as far as draft picks, trades, and player signings.

the lakers are smart and patient and are willing to risk not signing or trading for an ok player and wait for that great player. and also you brought up the clippers? the clippers? just now they became successful.

Totally agree, Trading Bynum for Howard was not an equal trade, the Lakers should have been required to give up Pau Gasol also. Agree they may get away with it because LA is a big media center, but this is not fair for the Magic or the rest of the league. I hope they step in to nix this deal or make it more fair like they did with the proposed Chris Paul trade which I thought was more fair than this one.

Wait what?? Dwayne Wade is Old??.. 32 you say?? If my memory serves me right Dwade is still 30… and 30 is the peak age for any type of athlete.. This is the time where you will see the athlete do his very best.. It happened with Kobe, Jordan, Tiger Woods and Manny Pacquiao.. So I don’t think you should discount Dwade for the next 2-3 yrs… He will be primed and will be ready to kill… But no matter how good Miami is I will still stick with my Fave team… LA.. Hope they see each other in the finals because what ever is lacking on one team is present on the other… Transition vs Half Court Play… Hope Minnesota does well this year too….

They may be younger than the Lakers but Miami is still not a young team like the Thunder. Look at the guys in their 30’s: Ray Allen, Shane Battier, Juan Howard, James Jones, Rashard Lewis, Mike Miller. Granted, your big three still have some good years left in them but 2011 has shown without a supporting cast, you can expect a NBA finals heartbreak. Enjoy.

This is the most idiotic article I’ve ever read. How is it a bad trade for the Magic? The LAKERS just literally took the headache from the Magic. Comes next season, the Lakers will be the one who have to deal with losing a BIG Man to free agency and Magic won’t. The Lakers will also lose Bynum for nothing! Bynum is 2 yrs younger than Howard. He will be the next dominant big man once he’s mature. Everybody mature up at one point in their NBA career. The Lakers is taking a hugh risk considering DH stated that he won’t resign and will seek free agency. Nobody can say the Lakers steal the deal until after next season! Any speculation besides this comment right now is just dumb. Things change with DH everyday. I’m sure it’ll change next season. Count on it!

One more thing…The LAKERS should not agree to give up any more piece for DH. It is already a huge risk giving up Bynum. If they dont finalize the deal and want more out it, the screw them. Stick with Bynum at least you get a total of two 7-footers. DH will not resign unless the Lakers move themselves to Brooklyn. That means the deal is at least 95% risky for the Lakers right now. The Magic is getting WAYY too much if anyone know basketball. They about to lose everything since they won’t be getting any better trade as free agency is approaching for DH and Lakers signing Bynum for extension as soon as this deal is cancel.

You’re calling out on the history of the lakers? Most of the stars in Lakers history were draft picks, and I can count the non draft pick stars on one hand, (Wilt, Kareem, Shaq to name the best). When was the last time you remember the heat making something of their draft picks. The lakers have always had money but never flaunted it around. We never even tried for Nash, he himself wanted to join the lakers because of personal reasons. The 2009-10 roster of the lakers, was again all built around Kobe and we over threw a strong “Celtic big 3″ and Orlando (during their prime) and what did we have? An unhealthy kobe and an inconsistent Bynum.

And hey at least the lakers have a history, what does the Heat have? Answer: a bunch of bandwagoners

Lakers are the number ONE team at trading for talent. They are the most infamous team in NBA at doing that, and they have to be because they are nearly always near the top at the end of the season.
Who have they really drafted in last 30years since James Worthy? lol. No one. Bynum? That it? Your star of the past 15 years was still a trade from Charlotte. Yea, he was scouted out by Lakers but it was a TRADE, it wasn’t their pick.

@johnny someone named magic johnson was also a draft pick by the lakers. and the lakers can’t get good draft picks cause they’re always good. Don’t get me wrong, i hate the lakers, but i hate ignorant people who rant on things they have no knowledge about more.

Haha! Yeah waiting to see on that one. A bit harsh to call OKC fans bandwaggoners though. Only been in existence for a few years and what’s not to like about that team? Built mostly through the draft, no taking of any talents there. They all just grew up and improved, taking them from a bottom feeder to an elite team.

Back to the trade, so the Lakers swap Bynum and a first round pick for Howard in the end. Can’t believe Gasol is still there, his name has been in nearly every trade scenario involving the Lakers for the last couple of years. Anyway, a Big 4 in L.A. with Nash and Gasol running pick and rolls, Kobe shooting it every time he touches it and Howard cleaning up anything that misses. They’ll be a force on D as well with Howard back there. And imagine if MWP starts playing like Ron Ron again.

Well it looks like David Stern will finally get his Lakers-Heat finals matchup. And we can all look forward to the fans of each team posting away on here all year. Lots of “LeChoke”, “Kobe is better than MJ” and all that other nonsense.

Go Wizards, Kings, Hornets and Rockets. Its all about the underdogs for me this year. Then come playoff time I’ll be back on OKC.

okc isnt a band wagon they got all their amazing players through draft picks. So that means they know who do pick. It also serves every body who thought russ wasn’t worth the 4th over all pick… okc baby killin lebron james daily. maybe not as much because the heat bandwagon got allen and lewis.

The reason Gasols ther is b/c he can shoot an outside shot unlike bynum and if he goes cold they can always trade him and start Jamison at the PF spot. The lakers are probly just waiting for the trade deadline to make the move. The lakers still need a subsequentful bench warming player thats trying to prove himself preferably a backup PG with exp. b/c I dont think Darius Morris is experienced enough in the NBA to make premiere plays. Nash cant be in ther 48 minutes every game guys

@blobby I got confused, “okc baby killin lebron james daily”? Last time I checked OKC got killed by Lebronze in the finals. The only way I can think of is 2k12. Stop gaming too much and come back to reality. It`s for your own good.

LA is the most arrogant team in the NBA (mainly ’cause of Kobe)… So if someone didn’t like the Lakers, they will probably never like the Lakers…. Mike Brown is in a pressure cooker now (he thought Cleavland was bad), Championship or bust in the next three years… I still see this team winning or losing because of Kobe, will he be kind enough to share the ball/points with 4 stars…

Would be dream matchup in the Finals, finally Lerbron might face Kobe! Since Lebron is one of the few players that can guard Howard, Miami would still play small & really test the Laker defense with their perimeter shooting depth…

And how is Miami gonna pay for all this??? And why would howard leave LA when he will have just as good a chance to win a championship there? Trust me he’s either gonna stay put or go to dallas. As much as we’d like to think howard is Shaq 2.0 (Orlando -> L.A. -> Miami) it ain’t gonna happen.

from what I have read of your postings, you must either be a very rabid Heat fan or a person who thinks everything should measure to your expectations (the latter is also prevelant in what is termed as a “Bandwagon” Fan.). Both seem to be present in your post. The Howard trade to Los Angeles was announced last evening and a call to the league office is scheduled today. And to answer your next question, David Stern CANNOT stop this trade as he stopped the CP3 trade last year as he was acting as an owner in the case of the CP3 trade (the league owned the Hornets last year). So, whether you like it or no, Dwight Howard is a Laker and the Heat are going to have to look elsewhere to improve the 5 spot in their line up. I have been a Laker fan since the 1971-72 season and continue to support them to this day. It must also upset you to find out that the Lakers have kept Pau Gasol. I find some of your comments to be humorous. But for the most part, boring.

This is a double win for me. It’ll finally shut u up and Im a Laker fan. Even if your precious Heat win a title each of the next 10 years (not likely), you’ll still be several championships behind my team :)

omg.. give it up already.. i’ve told you so many times.. only way the heat could have gotten him was if they included one of the big three.. which wasnt going to happen.. and ya.. the deal is done.. dwight is staying in la la land.. get over it.. at least i wont have to read your stupid comment on every single article anymore

I can totally see DH12 Jersey is retired in the future of LA Lakers. It’ll be more then 3 Titles. This is what Shaq has been trying to prevent, is DH making people forget Shaq when DH wins multiple titles. The Lakers will always put all the mind and effort in building the best team as they’rve been persuading DH to come to the Lakers. so you know DH will have excellent teammates and win WAY more titles than SHAQ. All Shaq can do now is bad mouthing DH and DH is too smart to let Shaq gets into his head. Shaq is mad that the Lakers chose Kobe over him, so he doesnt want the Lakers to get best of anything…lol

Howard is going to opt out, smartly so, as long as Kobe still thinks he’s 20 something with the ball for most of the 24 seconds and not utilizing post present. Bynum played great when Kobe was out with monster double, doubles. Shame on Orlando for holding on trying to convince Howard to stay letting real offers slide by. Guess they will rebuild with draft picks?

bballjunkie1, you are an absolute idiot. Why would Howard leave Lakers? That’s still Kobe’s team idiot. They’re not keeping Kobe for no reason you dumb idiot. It will be Howard’s team after Kobe retires. Bynum, to be fair is a good center, though he had no choice but to step up when Kobe was injured or he’s out. Idiot!